Balrampur (UP), Nov 24 (IANS): A 10-year-old boy was killed by a leopard on Thursday near the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district, officials said.

The victim, Sandeep, had gone out of the house in Majhgawan village to relieve himself, when the leopard, which was sitting behind a tree, attacked him and started to drag him to the nearby sugarcane field.

Hearing his cries, his grandmother came out and raised an alarm. The leopard then ran into the forest, leaving the boy, but he had died by then.

District Magistrate Mahendra Kumar said instructions had been given to capture the leopard and send it to the zoo.

Public awareness campaigns will be started in the villages that are adjacent to the forest, he said.

Divisional Forest Officer M. Sem Maran has appealed to the villagers not to let their children go out alone at night and keep areas around their houses lit at night.

The DFO said drone cameras would be installed in the villages, which are situated on the edge of the forest, to search for the leopard.